A Mermaid's Close Friends
by GoldGuardian2418
Summary: Cala Maria gets a chance to thank Cuphead and Mugman for destroying her contract and getting rid of the monster who trapped her with the contract. Done as a request for a guest viewer. :)


**A guest reviewer asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :) **

**Cuphead belongs to Studio MDHR. I own nothing. Also, please be gentle in the reviews. This is my first time writing Cala Maria in a story.**

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**A Mermaid's Close Friends**

Cala Maria sighed happily as she relaxed in the tide pools, which were warm from the sun. While she loved swimming in the cold ocean, there were times when it was just too cold and she'd head for the tide pools. Some of the other ocean creatures would gather there too, making it a colorful and beautiful place.

She heard footsteps and turned her head to see Cuphead and Mugman coming down the path and they had sand pails and shovels. "How big should the castle be?" Mugman asked.

"As big as possible," Cuphead said, grinning as they made it to the beach and set about to digging.

As the beach was near the tide pools, Maria had the best view to watch the boys, smiling as she saw they were determined to make a big sandcastle. Cuphead looked around. "Let's try wet sand for the base and then not-so-wet sand as we build it higher?" He suggested.

"Okay," Mugman said. "I'll get some from over there."

He had pointed to an area near the tide pools and Maria ducked down to stay hidden, seeing the little blue mug come closer, which meant he hadn't spotted her yet. She watched as he started gathering wet sand and putting it into his bucket. When it was filled, he began dragging it over to where he and his brother had decided to build their sandcastle, but the bucket was heavy now. He still pulled and managed to drag it a little ways when he stopped as it was a bit much to drag.

Thinking quickly, Maria looked around and saw an purple octopus nearby. She motioned it over and it came at her command, lifting up the heavy bucket of sand with no trouble with two arms and grabbing Mugman with another arm.

The little mug let out a yip of surprise before finding himself pulled back a bit and dropped into Cala Maria's lap. She giggled as the little one had landed on his back and was looking at her upside down. "Hello, Mugman," she said with a smile.

His eyes widened in shock. "C-Ca-Cala Maria!" He cried out, scrambling to get himself upright, but the mermaid's tail was a bit slippery, and so in his desperate scramblings, he promptly fell flat on his back in the shallow tide pool with only his face above the water.

Giggling in amusement, Maria reached down and lifted him out of the water. "Are you okay, Mugman?" She asked, a note of concern now in her voice.

He blinked. "Um, yeah," he said, curious about her actions.

She smiled at him. "I'm glad you and your brother came to the beach," she said.

"Why?" He asked warily.

She smiled again. "So I can thank you personally," she said, giving him an affectionate kiss on the forehead. "I owe you and your brother for saving me from that monsters and freeing me from that contract he had me sign."

Mugman turned a bit red. "Well, we didn't like that he forced us to choose between our lives and yours and several others," he admitted. "We were unsure of how to stop him, until we knew we had to hold onto the contracts and not let him get them."

"Which you and your brother bravely did," she said, glancing over to see Cuphead was looking around for his brother. "Over here, Cuphead," she called out.

Cuphead froze at hearing that voice. Cala Maria, the mermaid who could turn into a nightmarish medusa. She had put up quite a fight with them when they had fought her for her contract and they hadn't seen her since defeating the monster.

"Cups! Come on over!" Mugman called out. "Check out these seashells!"

Having spied the shells a moment before, the little mug was wading in the water and picking up shells, examining them in the sun. The purple octopus was still nearby, catching Mugman when he almost fell into the deeper water at one edge of the tide pool. Patting the tentacle in gratitude, Mugman carefully moved around, making sure he didn't fall. Maria smiled as well, keeping an eye on the young one too.

Cuphead hesitantly made his way over to them, climbing up the rocks before reaching the top and gazing over the edge to find a smiling Cala Maria looking up at him in amusement and Mugman holding up a large conch shell that had a purplish-pink color on the inside. "Come on in, kiddo," the mermaid said. "The tide pools are nice and warm."

"She's right, bro," Mugman said, grinning as he set the conch shell on a nearby rock that had a collection of shells that he had found so far. A purple tentacle came around him and gently tossed him up into the air, making him yelp at first, but then he laughed as he came back down, a few tentacles forming a soft platform so that he landed safely and it was a soft landing.

Cuphead came a bit closer, seeing some rocks jutting out almost like steps. He cautiously lowered himself down the edge, using the rocks jutting out like handholds and footholds. Cala Maria watched him closely to make sure he didn't fall, but when the small red cup made it to the edge of the tidepool, she playfully splashed the water with her tail, splashing him in the process.

"Hey!" He cried out in surprise as he lost his grip. A couple tentacles came under him and acted like a slide, making him slide until he landed sideways in the mermaid's lap, to which she giggled before reaching down and playfully poking his sides.

A squeak left Cuphead's mouth before he tried to scramble away, but Maria caught him again, grinning widely. "I've got you this time, little one," she cooed before her fingers wiggled into his stomach.

The red cup squealed this time, squirming in her lap as he laughed, trying hard to get away, but while her tail was slippery, it seemed to keep him from trying to escape too as he was tickled to pieces.

Mugman giggled as he watched before a purple tentacle lifted him up and placed him in Cala Maria's lap too and she wasted no time in tickling him too, making him squeal with laughter too.

"Cootchie, cootchie, cootchie, coo!" The mermaid said teasingly, now blowing raspberries into the brothers' stomachs while her fingers tickled their underarms, which forced them to try and block her wiggling fingers from their underarms and leave their stomachs exposed to the playful raspberries.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" They laughed, still squirming to get away, but unable to as Maria gently nudged their shirts up just a little to expose their belly buttons and she immediately blew big raspberries right onto their belly buttons before playfully, yet gently, nibbling their stomachs.

Mugman let out a squeal that no doubt could be heard all over the islands and Cuphead let out an equally-loud squeal.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOP!" He pleaded. His brother was too much in stitches to do anything but laugh.

"Oh, no. I've got two yummy and cute tummies and I'm going to eat them up!" Cala Maria cooed teasingly as she kept up the playful raspberries and nibbling, listening as the boys' laughter climbed a few more octaves.

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Brineybeard was sailing up to Cala Maria's place when he heard the laughter and grew curious, drawing closer and chuckling at the scene.

Cuphead and Mugman were at the mermaid's mercy as she tickled them, giggling as they laughed and tried to escape, but couldn't. Chuckling again, the pirate anchored near the rocks and climbed up, sneaking up behind the purple-haired mermaid and reaching around to tickle her stomach.

Cala Maria squeaked in surprise and began laughing, stopping the tickle torture with the boys and trying to stop whoever had snuck up behind her. A dark beard and a familiar chuckle told her exactly who was tickling her.

"BRINEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEHEEYBEARD! STOHOHOHOHOHOP!" She pleaded.

"Not this time, Maria," he said teasingly as he lifted her up out of the water and blew a raspberry into her stomach. A squeal came out of the mermaid's mouth and she tried to escape, but the pirate had her in a firm, gentle grasp.

Mugman and Cuphead giggled as they recovered and watched the giant-sized pirate tickle the mermaid for a bit before he let her up and gently placed her back into the tide pool. Giving him a half-hearted glare, which faded almost immediately, Maria smiled. "Hello, Brineybeard," she said.

He took off his hat and bowed to her politely. "Hello, Cala Maria," he said before smiling at the boys. "Hello, Cuphead and Mugman."

The boys looked a bit worried, but the mermaid scooped them up in her arms with a smile. "Briney, did you hear?" She said. "These two sweethearts didn't give our contracts to that monster."

"I heard," he said with a grin. "I almost didn't want to believe it at first, but then I saw them kick that scourge off the island." He looked at the boys. "You two taught that cretin a lesson he won't soon forget."

Seeing that the pirate wasn't upset at them, they relaxed a bit. "Still, we owe you both an apology," Cuphead said.

"We're sorry," Mugman said meekly.

"Ah, don't worry about it, boys," Brineybeard said, smiling as he gently rubbed their heads. "You beat me fair and square, like true pirates."

"You beat me fair and square too," Cala Maria said. "And were very brave."

"Still, it wasn't right of us to...to fight you just to save ourselves," Cuphead said.

"But you didn't," the pirate said. "You fought us to save both yourselves and us, because you weren't going to give the monster what he wanted."

The mermaid smiled and nodded in agreement. "And that makes you two boys two of my closest friends," she said, kissing their foreheads while Brineybeard's whale let out a roar, but it was a roar of victory this time.

Cuphead and Mugman smiled, hugging both the mermaid and the pirate. Brineybeard then saw the buckets of sand the boys had. "Are you two building a sandcastle?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Mugman said excitedly.

"Mind if Briney and I join in?" Maria asked.

"Not at all," Cuphead said with a grin.

"Then, let's shove off, lads! And ladies," the pirate said. "To build the mightiest sandcastle our fine isles have ever seen!"

The boys giggled as they all made it to the beach to do just that.

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**I had a lot of fun with this one. :)**

**Please leave a review, but no flames! **

**GoldGuardian2418 **


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